First Day
by DragonflyxParodies
Summary: "Happy First Day, little sister." Because love could be shown in many ways, and the fear of the future brought out the desperation in him. A Christmas gift to my friend Shard. Bittersweet.


_He tugged her hand almost brutally again, and she pumped her short legs in a desperate effort to catch up to him._

_"Luck. Now!" Reen barked as they rounded a corner. He slammed her into the wall, nearly crushing her as his weight trapped her. She squeezed her eyes shut as their pursuer skidded around the corner-and opened them as she stabbed out with it. She felt the drain in her stomach, the slight give of the man's mind._

_Even as she did so Reen sank to the ground and dropped her into his lap, half covering her with the filthy blanket he'd been using as a cape. The crusty bread Vin held in her hands felt hot as coals as their chaser continued running past them, shouting obscenities at the wind. Her Luck had worked, thankfully._

_The man had not seen their faces. Reen had snatched the bread from his vendor and he had shouted-they had fled. No one paid them any heed while she slowly sat up, handing him his blanket back._

_Reen tilted his head at her, harsh expression gone. He took it and wrapped it around her, tying the ragged ends of it around her neck._

_Vin stared up at him, eyes wide and serious as he did so. There was no flicker of anger or cruelty in his eyes, and he was serious as he took the bread from her hands and cracked it in half, offering her the rest._

_"Do you ever think of her?" He asked, stretching his legs out in front of him. Vin was silent for a moment, mulling over the question. There was only one person he could mean. It had only been two years since their mother had lost her mind. Reen usually refused to let her talk about her._

_"Not really." She finally whispered, sucking at the crust in her fist. She dreamt about the woman, occasionally. Of blood and a baby wailing, of fervent words whispered into her hair and the slick feel her mother's fingers against her arm._

_"No?" He asked, sounding surprised. She shook her head. Her dreams were her business, and hers alone._

_"Hnm…Do you know what day it is?" He asked, his wary gaze flickering over their surroundings as he carelessly changed the subject._

_Even when he wasn't mad at her, even when he felt they were safe, he still didn't relax. His paranoia affected her, and she found herself discreetly scanning everyone who got too close to them._

_"No." She whispered, staring at him curiously. It was not either of their birthdays, she didn't think-but, of course, Reen did not celebrate birthdays. A smile, quick and almost excited, crossed his lips. Her eyes widened. She almost never saw Reen smile, not anymore._

_"It's First Day, Vin. The start of the new year." He produced, out of seemingly nowhere, an object he had kept hidden from her. He tore it in half and handed her part of it._

_Again, her eyes widened._

_It was a pastry, slightly squished and covered in a thin layer of frosting._

_Reen smiled at her as she took the pastry and squeaked out a thank you. He was in a festive mood-he'd been a bit more daring than he usually was in taking the treat. She was a good girl, and she never once complained, not even behind his back. These moments of wonder were for the most part, almost nonexistent. She deserved a break, even one as small as this, because in the morning it would be back to their world of thieves and blood and teaching her how to survive so that when he was gone, when his luck finally ran out, she'd be safe._

_"Happy First Day, little sister." Reen murmured, ruffling her hair._

xxXxXxXxx

Vin woke to tears trickling down her cheeks, pooling on the arm her head rested on. He wasn't awake yet, not to her knowledge, and she turned, pressing her face to his chest and curling her fingers around the fabric of their blankets, allowing herself this small comfort. Memories had been plaguing her dreams, of late. Reen, her mother, Kiesler. All of those faces she'd thought she would never see again, never think of again. Elend shifted beside her, letting out a breath as he closed his arms around her.

"Bad dream?" He whispered, yawning.

"No…No. It was a good dream." She whispered, tilting her head up until her lips brushed his chin.

"Do good dreams often make you cry?" He asked, his tone making a frown come to her lips. He didn't mean anything by it, but she didn't respond.

Sleep began tugging at the both of them again.

"Hey, Elend?"

"Yes, Vin?"

"…Happy First Day."


End file.
